ASRock X470 Master SLI

Introduction

ASRock Inc. is established in 2002, specialized in the field of motherboards. ASRock strives to build up its own brand. With the 3C design concept, “Creativity, Consideration, Cost-effectiveness”, the company explores the limit of motherboards manufacturing while paying attention on the eco issue at the same time, developing products with the consideration of Eco-friendly concept.

Official product link:

https://www.asrock.com/MB/AMD/X470%20Master%20SLI/index.asp

Packaging and accessories

The X470 Master SLI is packaged in a standard cardboard box with a black and silver color scheme. The front side features the name of the motherboard alongside the main features of both the X470 chipset and of the motherboard itself. The ASRock logo is placed on the upper left corner of the box.

The back of the box presents in detail the motherboard, its features & specifications. The upper side ide of the box is dedicated to the full specification of the motherboard, on the left side there is a full top down photo of the motherboard and the I/O panel. The lower side of the box presents the main features provided by the motherboard, these are described with colored images of each.

The sides of the box are simple, here only the name of the motherboard and the ASRock logo are present alongside the overall graphics used for this packaging.

Accessories

The product comes with the following accessories:
– 1x User Manual
– 1x Quick Installation Guide,
– 1x Support CD
– 1x I/O Shield
– 2x SATA Data Cables
– 1x ASRock SLI_HB_Bridge_2S Card
– 2x Screws for M.2 Sockets

Specifications

MODEL: X470 Master SLI
CPU SUPPORT: AMD AM4 Socket Ryzen Series CPUs (Summit Ridge, Raven Ridge and Pinnacle Ridge)
SOCKET: AM4
CHIPSET: AMD Promontory X470
POWER DESIGN: 12 Power Phase design
FORM FACTOR: 30.5 cm x 24.4 cm
INTEGRATED GRAPHICS: No
MEMORY: 4x DDR4 DIMM Slots
– DDR4 3466+(OC) / 3200(OC) / 2933/2667/2400/2133 ECC & non-ECC, un-buffered memory
– Max. capacity of system memory: 64GB
BIOS: 256Mb AMI UEFI Legal BIOS with GUI support
Expansion Slots:
– 2x PCI Express 3.0 x16 Slots (single at x16 (PCIE1); dual at x8 (PCIE1) / x8 (PCIE4))
– 4x PCI Express 2.0 x1 Slots
– 15μ Gold Contact in VGA PCIe Slot (PCIE1)
STORAGE:
– 6x SATA3 6.0 Gb/s Connectors, support RAID (RAID 0, RAID 1 and RAID 10), NCQ, AHCI and Hot Plug
– 2x Ultra M.2 Socket (M2_1), supports M Key type 2230/2242/2260/2280/22110 M.2 SATA3 6.0 Gb/s module and M.2 PCI Express module up to Gen3 x4 (32 Gb/s) (with Summit Ridge, Raven Ridge and Pinnacle Ridge).
NETWORKING:
– 1x GigaLAN Intel® I211AT
– Supports Wake-On-LAN
– Supports Lightning/ESD Protection
– Supports Energy Efficient Ethernet 802.3az
– Supports PXE
PORTS:
– 1x PS/2 Mouse/Keyboard Port
– 1x HDMI Port
– 1x Optical SPDIF Out Port
– 1x USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-A Port (10 Gb/s) (Supports ESD Protection)
– 1x USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C Port (10 Gb/s) (Supports ESD Protection)
– 6x USB 3.1 Gen1 Ports (Supports ESD Protection)
– 1x RJ-45 LAN Port with LED (ACT/LINK LED and SPEED LED)
– HD Audio Jacks: Rear Speaker / Central / Bass / Line in / Front Speaker / Microphone
AUDIO: 7.1 CH HD Audio with Content Protection (Realtek ALC1220 Audio Codec)
FAN HEADERS: 4x 4-Pin

Features:

– Premium 45A Power Choke: Compared to traditional chokes, ASRock’s premium 45A power chokes effectively make the saturation current up to three times better, thus providing enhanced and improved Vcore voltage to the motherboard.
– Nichicon 12K Black Caps: Supreme 12K black capacitors with lifespans of at least 12,000 hours. Compared to other counterparts on high-end motherboards that merely have lifespans of around 10,000 hours, ASRock applied Nichicon 12K Black Caps that offer 20% longer lifespans and provide more stability and reliability.
– Dual M.2 For SSD: Equipped with M.2 slot that supports both SATA3 6Gb/s and PCIe Gen3 x4 Ultra M.2 interface that pushes data transfer speeds up to 32Gb/s, and is compatible with ASRock’s U.2 Kit for installing some of the world’s fastest U.2 PCIe Gen3 x4 SSD.
– PCI-E STEEL SLOTS: The advanced PCI-E Steel Slots packed with solid cover that prevent any signal interference with graphics cards. It also ensures the heavy graphics cards to be well-installed in the PCI-E slots safely.
– High Density Glass Fabric PCB: High Density Glass Fabric PCB design that reduces the gaps between the PCB layers to protect the motherboard against electrical shorts caused by humidity.

Visual inspection

The X470 Master SLI is one of the affordable X470 chipset equipped motherboards on the market, featuring a black and grey color scheme similar with that of the Taichi motherboards. As with all motherboards that use the AMD Promontory X470 chipset, the Master SLI is compatible with all AMD Ryzen 1 and 2 CPUs from the factory. In addition, the motherboard features two M.2 storage ports and six SATA 3 connectors.

The X470 Master SLI features a Power delivery design using SM4336 and SM4337 MOSFETs which are both manufactured by Sino. The capacitors used are rated at 12,000Hours of operation and are manufactured by Nichicon.

The PWM regulator is manufactured by Intersil and is model number: ISL95712, capable of being programmable in 1, 2, 3 or 4-phases for the core output and 1, 2, 3-phase for the Northbridge output.

The power towards the CPU is sent through two connectors, a single 8 Pin and a single 4 Pin connector. While these two connectors can deliver power well above what any Ryzen CPU can use, these two connectors are installed on different layers of the PCB. This method is used to deliver a more stable current to the components of the board.

Both VRM heatsinks use an all-aluminum construction with a linear design and fins sculpted on both sides. Each heatsink is held in place over the VRM with two metallic screws each.

The motherboard features 4 (four) 4-pin Molex connectors, two are in close proximity to the CPU Socket and the other two are placed on the lower side of the motherboard next to the USB 2.0 and Aura header connectors.

The right side features four memory DIMM slots supporting a maximum of 64GB of DDR4 RAM. The rated speeds available are starting at 2133MHz and goes up to DDR4 3466+(OC), depending on the RAM kits installed and settings dialed in by the user.

Next to the DIMM slots there are two internal USB 3.0 headers alongside the 24Pin Power cable slot. Lower from these ports, there is a second Aura RGB connector installed.

The motherboard features two PCIe 3.0 x16 ports that are reinforced with metal to better support a heavy graphics card and aid in the reduction of Graphics Card sag.

Between the two PCIe 3.0 x16 slots we find the Bios chip alongside the Bios header, this chip is soldered on the PCB of the motherboard and thus is not removable.

Below the lowest PCIe 3.0 x16 slot and next to the Bios battery there is the Nuvuton NCT6779D Super I/O chip, that is responsible for the monitoring of most sensors of the motherboard.

The audio system has as its center point the Realtek ALC1220 codec while the capacitors used are made by Nichicon and are called Fine Gold. The whole audio system is covered by a plastic cover that blends in with the I/O cover. As is the case with all the new motherboards, the Audio system is separated from the rest of the components with the help of a LED illuminated line traced on both sides of the PCB.

The motherboard is equipped with two SATA M.2 slots for PCI-E NVMe M.2 SSDs, the first one is located below the CPU socket and features a preinstalled metallic heatsink. The second M.2 slot is placed below the Chipset heatsink right in front of the Bios battery.

The motherboard features six SATA3 6.0 Gb/s Connectors that will support RAID 0, RAID 1 and RAID 10.

On the backside, we have the I/O panel.
The I/O panel is as follows (from left to right):
– 1x PS/2 Mouse/Keyboard Port
– 1x HDMI Port
– 1x Optical SPDIF Out Port
– 1x USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-A Port (10 Gb/s) (Supports ESD Protection)
– 1x USB 3.1 Gen2 Type-C Port (10 Gb/s) (Supports ESD Protection)
– 6x USB 3.1 Gen1 Ports (Supports ESD Protection)
– 1x RJ-45 LAN Port with LED (ACT/LINK LED and SPEED LED)
– HD Audio Jacks: Rear Speaker / Central / Bass / Line in / Front Speaker / Microphone

Bios

The bios utilizes a simple interface, although most motherboards today use two Bios modes, the first one being the EZ Mode destined for casual users and the second being the in depth Bios meant for power users. The Master SLI just like other ASRock motherboards does not offer an EZ (Eazy) mode bios for beginners. The bios for this motherboard uses a black and silver theme inspired by the overall design of the motherboard.

Testing

The following system was used to test the motherboard:
– CPU: AMD Ryzen 1700X @ 3.6GHz
– RAM: Ballistix Tactical Tracer 16GB DDR4 @ 2666MHz
– GPU: Nvidia GeForce GTX 1070 Founder’s Edition
– HDD: WD 1TB Blue
– SSD: Samsung 840 EVO 120GB
– PSU: Seasonic Snow Silent 750W Platinum
– CPU Cooler: Noctua NH-L9x65 SE-AM4
– Case: Phanteks Enthoo Luxe
– OS: Windows 10 64-Bit (After April Update)

The processor was used with the stock turbo frequency of 3.6 GHz and overclocked to 4 GHz with a core voltage of 1.355. The overclocking starts at 3.8 GHz and with each motherboard I try to achieve the highest safe overclocking possible.
The RAM memory was used at its default frequency

Software used for testing the motherboard:

– 3D Mark – FireStrike, CloudGate, IceStorm.
– CineBench r11.5
– SuperPi mod 1.5
– wPrime v1.55
– Grand Theft Auto V
– Deus Ex Mankind Divided
– The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

3D Mark

Overall Score

Fire Strike

Cloud Gate

Ice Storm

CineBench r15

SuperPi mod 1.5

wPrime v1.55

Grand Theft Auto V

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt

Deus Ex Mankind Divided

Final thoughts

The ASRock X470 Master SLI is part of the affordable segment of X470 equipped motherboards, however it does offer plenty of features and overclocking headroom. This particular motherboard managed to overclock the Ryzen 1700X to 4.0 GHz at a core voltage of 1.4V.
The bios of the motherboard however has some lacking features including the beginner or EZ (easy) bios front page, while the X470 chipset is meant for overclocking and thus generally used by experienced users, the EZ Bios offers a quick way to change the general settings.
The performance of the motherboard is good, the Ryzen 1700X CPU being able to reach a frequency of 4.0GHz with a core voltage of 1.4V while the dual channel memory kit was able to hit 3200MHz with ease.

Although there has been a wide discussion regarding the VRM used in the case of the X470 Master SLI, during all the testing done with this board, both gaming and benchmarks, there were no voltage spikes or VRM overheating. The monitoring was done with HWiNFO v5.90 and the latest version of Aida 64 Extreme Edition as well as with two external temperature probes.

In conclusion, the ASRock X470 Master SLI is an affordable motherboard that offers the X470 chipset and a couple of needed features such as two SATA M.2 slots, metal reinforced PCIe 3.0 x16 slots and 12K rated Nichicon Black Caps. In terms of design, the board also features full RGB illumination and two LED strip headers, alongside a black and grey color scheme.

Get your own X470 Master SLI on Amazon!